Gong Li in Talks to Join Tim Burton’s Ripley’s Believe It or Not

Here’s news that Chinese star Gong Li is currently in talks to play the female lead in Tim Burton’s upcoming “Ripley, Believe it or Not”, based on the life and times of American artist and author Robert L. Ripley, of “Ripley, Believe it or Not!” fame. Besides Li, who, if she joins, would be doing her third Hollywood movie (following on the heels of “Miami Vice” and “Hannibal”), Burton is also seeking Jim Carrey for the lead, with Johnny Depp having reportedly quit the Paramount project. Too busy with scurvies, most likely.

Believe It or Not picks up with Ripley at the time when he gained celebrity status through a “Believe it or Not” column that chronicled his search for the greatest oddities in the world. Along the way, he starts to respect his unusual human discoveries as more than mere conquests to be documented.